User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This is a fine debut from Rachel Donohoe, a dark, chillingly suspenseful mystery novel with gothic overtones, where raging teenage hormones, overheated emotions, and imaginations spill over in a all girls Roman Catholic boarding school. In a school run by nuns, there is the juxtaposition of opposites, the strictures and repression of religion with its damnation and morality, crossed with the rampant emotional intensity, desires and obsessions of young girls, particularly with the incendiary addition of a male art teacher, Edward Lavelle. Louisa, coming from a troubled family background, is one of the first scholarship girls gaining a much prized entry to the prestigious and elite Temple House School. She is like a fish out of water, in unfamiliar territory she does not understand and not made to feel particularly welcome. What she needs is a friend to help her negotiate the pitfalls so that she can fit into this new environment and she finds that in the other worldly Victoria.
Victoria has her focus on their art teacher, and a girls boarding school is an ideal environment for rumours, rivalries, bullying, jealousy and obsessions to run rampant, one might even say more so in a religious school. Louisa and Edward Lavelle disappear in a mystery that is to remain unsolved through the years, a festering sore that ignites the curiosity of a journalist whose babysitter as a young child had been Louisa. In a tense narrative that goes back and forth through time, the revelations emerge tantalisingly slowly, the lies, secrets, the relationships, the triangles, the untold havoc wreaked by out of control emotions and the decisions that result. This is a well written, absorbing and engaging, atmospheric read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The blend of religious boarding school and teenage girls is captured remarkably well by the author. Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 Located in the Irish countryside stands Temple House. An elite boarding school run by Catholic Sisters, it has educated generations of girls from privileged families. Now in the 1990s they have decided to admit girls on scholarship. Louise is one of the first and from the beginning she is an outcast. Her family is not wealthy and she wears a used uniform, doesn't have the correct indoor shoes and is the target of a smug prefect named Helen. She is lonely, that is until she is taken under the wing by the wealthy Victoria and the only make around, a young art teacher. Mr. Lavelle.
One day near the end of term both Louise and Mr. Lavelle go missing. On the 25th anniversary of their disappearance a journalist will try to find out exactly what happened to these two missing people that have never been seen again.
Strong gothic undertones with a strong sense of isolation. Also explores teenage angst and infatuation along with those who are privileged, wealthy and those who are not. Peer pressure and wanting to fit in somewhere and also the requisite mean girls. The characters are ably portrayed and one gets the complete sense of all the emotions swirling within and without. The conclusion, the solution is not as apparent as one would think when reading. A debut novel that intrigues and will appeal to those who enjoy gothic novels.
ARC by Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
Temple House is a second rate girls boarding school that thinks it’s first rate or at least some of the incumbents do, especially the nuns that run it. In September 1990 Louisa, a very clever 16 year old girl, is offered a scholarship at Temple House which she accepts but she is looked down on particularly by the girls who are fee paying. In her art class she meets fellow student Victoria and her art teacher Mr Lavelle. Victoria mesmerises Louisa and it appears as if she is her only friend. They become an ‘army of three’. Lavelle is 25 and handsome in a movie star way and so of course with young feminists hormones raging several girls including Victoria fall for his bohemian charms in this well depicted school setting. What unfolds is dramatic at times and certainly mysterious as by Christmas Lavelle and Louisa have disappeared. Together? Maybe. Dead? Possibly. The case is investigated and unsolved until a journalist ex neighbour of Louisa’s becomes involved and the truth emerges. This is a story of lies and silence, love and obsession, of insiders and outsiders, of doomed friendship and loss, of sacrifice and haunting, dominated by class snobbery and delusion. The story is told from the time by Louisa and from 2015 by the journalist.
This is a well written debut by Rachel Donoghue and I’m sure we’ll be hearing her name a lot in the future as her writing is very powerful. The characters are well created although not all are likeable. Helen the Head Girl is cold, a snob, she is cruel and judgemental with a rod firmly stuck up her backside. Victoria uses people and is delusional, Louisa is a shape shifter, desperate to fit in but so uncertain of herself and unsure of what the rules are. She is very likeable as her feelings seem to be true. Lavelle is the shaman who exerts control over his fawns, then pulls back if they try for more than he is prepared to give. He is naive and probably despicable. The novel is full of atmosphere created by the coastal setting with the backdrop of the school with the nuns in their garbs and ceremony but with sharp tongues and piercing eyes. The season of autumn to winter adds an extra dimension too. The ending is very good - it is tragic, shocking and also ghostly with redemption denied by those responsible.
Overall, a very good book which is well written and which unfolds effortlessly. The emotions of the central characters comes across strongly and gives you a whole range of emotions. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the ARC. Publication date 20/2/20.
Rating: really liked it
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Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace… The Temple House Vanishing left me with a tiny scar in my soul after reading it. It is intriguing and mysterious, it is real and delusional. The next time when I mention a special mystery, with a cruel end – this will be the first book that pops in my mind.
Louisa and Victoria are two friends that study in a Catholic girls’ boarding school. Both of them have something unique about themselves. They can both see the world in a different light and disobey the rules slightly.
They both also manage to become intrigued with their young, bohemian teacher and act in silly ways when they are around him. Until, one night, he and Louisa suddenly disappear.
Twenty-five years later, one journalist dives into the story again, hoping to finally find out the truth. The search for truth will uncover many buried secrets and a suppressed desire. It will break hearts and lay a lost soul to rest.
This novel might be the most intense novel I have read in 2019, right next to The Silent Patient. And The Devil Aspect. To witness the life of Louisa, and be aware of what is happening around her is quite intense. As soon as she meets Victoria, they click, and they both know they will become best friends. But even Louisa can feel that there is something odd about Victoria. After all, her last best friend left the school and no one knows what happened.
On that subject – why didn’t we find out what happened to this girl? One friendship, and a very interestingly weird love triangle. I felt so bad for Louisa, because all she ever cared about was Victoria. And all she ever wanted to do is to help in any way. She loved Victoria, but she should’ve said something. If she spoke – everything would now be different.
The teacher reminded me of one of my high-school teachers. The type of person that will show you that the world isn’t how you’ve always known it. There is a meaning behind it all, and there is a purpose for everything. My teacher, she could make me feel like I was able to achieve everything. Anything was possible, if we only followed the right path. Mr Lavelle made all the girls feel like this, and counting his beautiful face as well, it’s no surprise that most of them fell in love with him. But he encouraged them, in his own subtle way. Sweet look in the eyes, gentle touch on the shoulder, and that is all it takes to confuse a teenage girl.
What I loved most in this book was the fact that I had so many theories whilst reading it. I was certain I knew how it all ended. But I was wrong. I didn’t have a clue on what was actually happening until the very end, and I was still surprised. After finishing the book and having a little think, as I always do with books that amaze me – I realised something. The clues were there from the very beginning. But unless you already know the ending I doubt you will notice them. And that is the great masterpiece of writing. And for that, I salute you, Rachel Donohue.
If you love mysteries, thrillers, disappearances and unpredictable endings – I will guarantee you will love this book. And not only that, but you will also devour it in a day! 
Thank you to the team at LoveReading UK, for letting me part of the Ambassador Book Buzz and sending me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Check out the other amazing bloggers too! Wishlist | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Rating: really liked it
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When I saw this on my libraries audio BorrowBox as a download now with no waiting list, I remembered I had this on my book trolley waiting to be read. So, I thought I could listen to it on the run and then follow along with my book when I relax.
I just couldn’t leave this book alone.
It’s a sultry read brooding book that the narrator did very well. Based around a Catholic boarding school and the narrators voice is with an Irish accent this really married well.
I was hooked.
Young girls and all that comes with that. Friendships and secrets. Promises and Hell Mary’s.
Louisa joins Temple House and soon makes friends with Victoria.
She then gets to meet their art teacher Mr Lavelle. Each forming a bond.
It’s a strong bond and we as readers get a very good view, in fact, we have a front row seat on what’s taking place.
Then......Louisa and Mr Lavelle vanish.
Where are they?
Did they run off together?
Was their more than a teacher and pupil relationship forming?
Many years later a Journalist wants to get to the bottom of this mystery.
She had a connection with Louisa.
The journalist lived across the road from Louisas house.
This is spooky, dark, obsessive, ghostly and an absolutely stunning debut.
I can’t wait to read any subsequent books this author writes. There’s no way I would have put this as a debut.
The ending......
The ending......is not like anything I’ve read before.
Rating: really liked it
A bit of a letdown as it didn't truly showcase and explore these characters' closeness before they fell apart at the seams.
I wish we had more time with the journalist's POV as well as fleshing out the relationship between the protagonist and Victoria because I wasn't invested in them as much as I had hoped.
Rating: really liked it
3.75 stars
Really interesting. Hypnotic.
Didn’t go where I expected it to go, and carried an uncomfortable edge from beginning to bitter end. Writing style: ★★★★
Sense of unease: ★★★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★ 1/2
As I write this review, there's a thunderstorm outside my window and we're on our 5th day of constant rain and storms. This feels almost creepily tied to the review of this book... so I'm rolling with it.
It was a dark, and stormy night...But actually, it wasn't.
It was just "a" night in the rural Irish moors when Louisa disappears from the Temple House school. The enigmatic young male teacher, Mr. Lavelle, disappears too. Many theories abound over the years as neither student nor teacher are seen again.
Did they run off together? Was there something sordid in their closeness? Where are they now? What REALLY happened that school year in the all-girls boarding school? On the 25th anniversary of the disappearances, a journalist decides to have a crack at solving the case. The students are now middle-aged women, the nuns who ran the school are dead, and Temple House itself is slated for demolition.
If the case is going to be solved at all, it must be now. But all is not what it seems, and as the layers unpeel from this gothic tale the lingering sense of unease creeps up on you.
Don't get too comfortable. I thought this was a very interesting novel. Is it a mystery/thriller? Kind of. Is it a twisted tale, meant to unearth the darkest aspects of human nature? I don't know if I'd say that.
In the end, I'd say it's a character study and an exercise in the gothic classics. The Temple House Vanishing is perfect for those who enjoy Sarah Waters and Sarah Moss.
The writing style took a little getting used to, as it's very no-nonsense and deals in overt sentences laced with undertones.
I found it really easy to get lost in the surface plot and glaze over some of the fine print in the details... and then that would bite me later, as those fine details were where the true story is unfolding.
A complex, multilayered dual-POV novel with a lot of interesting nuances.
Now, a brief NON-SPOILER section on the ending. As this novel is centered around a mysterious circumstance, there is a final series of reveals regarding The Truth of What Happened.
I found myself surprised by the ending... and also slightly cheated... and also vaguely uneasy. It wasn't a comfortable, or frankly satisfying, ending. But it felt very real and not over-sensationalized and honestly fit right in with the overall sense of lingering unease that the novel provoked.
If this review doesn't turn you right off from the book, then I'd say you should pick it up!
The target audience is on the small, niche side, but you'll have a good time here if that's your thing. Thank you to Algonquin Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.Blog | Instagram
Rating: really liked it
Remember those old Malory Towers (which gets a name-check) books? This seems to revisit the school while adding in sex, a handsome male teacher, nuns, and some The Secret History-style gothic atmosphere. It definitely has a YA vibe as new girl Louise falls foul of the dress code (indoor shoes, please, for the priceless parquet flooring!) and gets some serious telling off from posh head-girl Helen. But the atmosphere darkens with death, lusty triangles and the mysterious disappearance of teacher and pupil...
This is a fun switch-off read, though the opening would have been more shocking if we hadn't seen it many times before. And it's huge fun going back to a boarding school setting where morality is off the rails. Characterisation isn't deep but it's a likeable page-turner of a tale.
ARC via NetGalley
Rating: really liked it
The Temple House Vanishing is Rachel Donohue’s superbly unique and astonishingly outstanding debut novel; it was a real struggle to put the book down because it takes you and holds you captive with no means of escape. It is very much a brooding, slow-burn thriller rather than anything fast-paced but it remains a steadfast page-turner regardless. Set in a Roman Catholic convent in the 1990s and with a sense of nostalgia and a portrayal of the zeitgeist of the time, the story follows Louisa and Victoria, two friends who became good friends. Run by the convent's nuns, we learn that Louisa had been awarded a prestigious scholarship to the school whereas all the other attendees had their tuition paid for by wealthy parents. Victoria is the only girl who introduces herself to the newbie and keeps her company. Soon the two girls strike up a slightly odd friendship with young art teacher Mr Lavelle. Fast forward twenty-five years and an investigative reporter familiar with the case of Louisa, who completely disappeared one day, decides to play devil's advocate and begin a deep dive into the young girls vanishing act and that of Mr Lavelle at exactly the same time. Is there more to this than initially meets the eye?
From the get-go, Ms Donohue instils a creepy, foreboding and richly atmospheric tale of forbidden love, revenge, privilege, jealousy, obsession, money, greed, lust, love and so much more. Some of the 90’s references we're right my street given it was this decade in which encountered my formative years. Written in a totally beguiling style I felt that the past and present perspectives give the story a fully rounded, immersiveness to it and the two plot threads merge further into the book. The author is such captivating storyteller that it's much on impossible to turn away. This is a literary gothic mystery and reveals itself slowly; as each layer is peeled back we learn more about what happened on that fateful day and how it was rapidly buried to save face. It's about being unable to cast off the haunting glare of the past and of past sins and the characters are unexpectedly intriguing. An interesting and intelligent read that discusses some fascinating, eye-opening themes and certainly gave me plenty of food for thought. Many thanks to Corvus for an ARC.
Rating: really liked it
Not really sure about this one not because there is anything majorly wrong with it, it's definitely well written that I do not fault it on, its just I found it to be rather slow-moving and somewhat tedious and because of this I did find myself skimming a lot.
The language used here is eloquent and lyrical in all its descriptions of life at Temple House and you can almost imagine and place yourself centre stage experiencing the angst and total over the top dramatics and reactions that this age always seems to experience but its the very fact that nothing really happens and you are just kind of left on a precipe of expectation that never actually delivers.
In short, this sets the stage splendidly but then fails to follow through as it promises.
Its told in a then and now fashion using the eyes of Lousia herself as she traverses the pitfalls of life as a new scholarship student at this exclusive school and the now where a journalist is trying to shed some new light on the now 25-year cold case.
I myself preferred the now part of the narrative as not much seemed to happen in the past.
What kept me turning the pages ultimately was wanting to know just what happened to Louisa and her teacher Mr Lavette and though I did get closure and I liked the final ending from Louise even in a sense finding it slightly fitting that she should finish the story as she did I also found this never built enough momentum along the way to truly engage me and invest me in the events unfolding.
Though I was looking forward to this immensely, unfortunately, this was rather disappointing.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Temple House Vanishing.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
Rating: really liked it
This debut involves an elite, Catholic boarding school, and the mysterious disappearance of scholarship girl, Louisa and charismatic art teacher, Edward Lavelle.
I often find myself drawn to novels set in Catholic schools – probably because I went to a convent school myself. Here we have Louisa, whose parents are divorcing, and who has decided that she wants to reinvent herself at Temple House School, but finds that she does not really fit in. Of course, there is bullying among the girls and this comes in the form of the repressed, and repressive, Head Girl, Helen. However, wild child, Victoria, soon befriends Louisa and makes life more bearable.
This novel uses the intense emotion of youth well and mixes this with the aftermath of events, as a journalist tries to uncover what really happened, all those years ago and how it affected those involved. Overall, this was an assured debut. I enjoyed the sections with the journalist more than those sections set in the past, but an interesting read with an atmospheric setting. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
Rating: really liked it
Set in 1990.
At an elite Catholic girls boarding school, the girls live under the ever watchful nuns. Louisa and Victoria quickly become besotted with their art teacher. But then Louisa disappears at the same time as Mr. Lavette, the art teacher. Twenty five years later, a journalist is investigating this unsolved case.
This is an atmospheric tale from beginning to end. It's full of mystery and suspense. The story is narrated by Louisa and the journalists perspectives. It's full of twist and turns. The story is also told in the past and present day. The characters are well rounded. This is a great debut novel with a great twist at the end.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Atlantic Books and the author Rachel Donahue for my ARC in exchange for an honest.
Rating: really liked it
When I heard the premise of this book, I immediately wanted to read it because there's something mesmerizing about boarding school mysteries.
Temple House is an elite catholic boarding school, where Louisa is admitted because she's a genius. She makes friends with Victoria very soon after she arrives, who's also very close to the charismatic art teacher of the school, Mr. Laville. Within a couple of months, she vanishes into thin air with Mr. Laville, and 25 years after, no one still knows what happened.
The story is told from 2 perspectives going back and forth between past and present. One narrator is Louisa herself, and the other is a journalist who's writing an article about the case.
I thought the novel had a very strong start, really beautiful descriptions & a very dark atmosphere setting. The tone was successfully set from the beginning and the author carried it well until the end. It was an easy, page-turner read that also created some tension for you to want to find out what happened all those years ago.
For these reasons, I think it's a good debut and I'd read more from Donohue in the future.
However, the book didn't leave me with a feeling of full satisfaction, mainly due to a lack of deep character development. Because all this mystery was set on these 3 characters, I think it was important to have a deeper understanding to feel closer to them. The language in this sense felt distant to the characters, which left me with a sense of dissatisfaction.
Although Mr. Laville was an important character, we almost didn't know anything about him. There was a lot of mention of the school, the church, how the nuns run the school, etc. But, we never got to see any examples of it, and never got to know any of those characters. We also didn't get to know the journalist, should be an important character if she's narrating half the story. Some things came out of nowhere, just happened. For example, Victoria decided to talk to this journalist after years, but why I wondered. What made her special? There are quite a bit of blank spaces I wish to be filled.
There was a lot of tell, but not show.
Personally, I saw the end coming from early on, but still kept reading and felt the tension rising through the end.
Overall, I think there's a lot of substance in this book as a debut, and I think Donohue's writing is beautiful.
Rating: really liked it
People I know and respect have really enjoyed this book, I can understand totally how you could feel it is an incredibly written book and could easily get caught up in the characters and story but unfortunately I just didn’t get it. Couldn’t connect, endear to the characters or really get off the starting blocks with this one. I lost interest in Louisa and why she and Mr Lavelle went missing and by the end couldn’t have cared why they disappeared. I also found it exceedingly hard to believe a strict Catholic boarding school run by nuns would exist in the manner it’s depicted and have lessons run by the likes of the bohemian Mr Lavelle.
“Temple House Vanishing” by debut author Rachel Donohue is a unique story with a YA feel to it, who for the right person with an interest in dramatic teenage angst with flawed characters, will enjoy but unfortunately on this occasion it was a case of ‘its not you, it’s me’.
2 stars but that’s my opinion only.
